IoT refers to the Internet of Things. IoT devices may be various kinds of information sensors and controllers or various kinds of smart home appliances. The IoT devices access the Internet in a variety of ways to form an immense network, thereby realizing extension of the Internet from people to things.
Among IoT access methods, a Wi-Fi IoT access method has the widest application, the lowest cost, and the best scalability. A Wi-Fi IoT device usually accesses a network directly via a Wi-Fi access point (also referred to as a Wi-Fi hotspot or a wireless router). However, most Wi-Fi IoT devices are relatively monofunctional with a relatively small capacity of data exchange. In many cases, Wi-Fi IoT devices have a relatively large spatial distance therebetween with a relatively low density of device distribution (it is impossible for them to act as relays for each other) when a Wi-Fi IoT is networked; besides, these devices have a relatively low data rate requirement in most occasions. As a consequence, in some application scenarios, it will occur that a physical distance for a traditional Wi-Fi link will reach or even exceed a maximum limit. Or, in the case of relatively complex channel conditions in a coverage space of the Wi-Fi IoT, for a high-rate Wi-Fi signal with a relatively broad frequency band, a relatively long wireless channel multipath time delay or channel time-variation will cause a poor effect for the traditional Wi-Fi link data transmission.
In the prior art, during a Wi-Fi IoT networking process, a considerable number of relay devices need to be additionally configured at appropriate distances or locations for Wi-Fi IoT devices with a scattered distribution or a poor channel condition. However, this scheme will increase implementation complexity of the Wi-Fi IoT, thereby significantly increasing network costs and maintenance difficulty.
The prior art fails to solve the problem of how to expand coverage of a single-protocol IoT; besides, it is complex in implementation with a relatively high cost.